Cara twisted her head away, and he instantly dropped his hand.
“Are you okay—”
“Wes, what’s—”
They spoke simultaneously.
“Why are you crying? Did someone hurt you? Who was it? I’ll…”
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Wes’s chestheaved as if he struggled to draw a full breath. Cara gaped back at him in silence. His eyes scanned down her body but not with heat as they had in the past. His pupils were wide, and his lips trembled a little.
Whatever he saw—or didn’t see—seemed to calm him, and his shoulders slumped. Then just as suddenly, the skin across his cheekbones tightened, and the lines by his eyes twitched as he tried to smile. His voice was gentle when he asked, “Is it something I can’t see? You can tell me.”
Cara’s entire face scrunched in confusion. What was he talking about? What did he think—terrible understanding hit her.
“I’m okay. Why would you think—”
Wes took her hands brushing his thumb across the tops of her knuckles. His gaze was slightly unfocused, and she wasn’t sure that she was the woman he was seeing in front of him.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Do you know who it was?” His face darkened again, and Cara met his eyes. The pain she saw there caused her heart to squeeze painfully in her chest.
“I promise nothing happened,” she said carefully. “Promise,” she repeated when his eyes were still uncertain. She squeezed his hands before letting go. “But I love you for caring.” The words had slipped out and she was immediately embarrassed.
However, her comment seemed to release something in Wes, and his mood morphed from concern to anger.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s…” He raised his elbow and made a show of looking at his watch. “Almost midnight!”
Cara narrowed her eyes, but he missed the warning.
“Were you out with Skye?”
“No.”
Wes frowned, and she glared back. Anger was better than the miserable rabbit hole she’d sent herself down for the last several hours. If he wanted a fight, she was more than happy to give him one.
“Jin said you weren’t at work…”
“Are you spying on me?
“No, Jin happened to mention it.” He planted his hands on his hips.
“Why are you even still up?”
An expression crossed his face that she would think about later.
“I was worried about you.”
Cara’s lips parted, his words immediately dissolving her anger.
They stared at each other in awkward silence.
“That’s it. I’m having wine,” Cara announced, before opening the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle. “Should I get you a glass.”
